5 Best Ways To Keep Your Smartphone Secure

No matter how advanced our smartphones get they will still have security flaws and will remain vulnerable. Even the Apple’s smartphones latest operating system iOS 11 was hacked in a day after it was released. There is no 100% secure way to protect your smart devices, once an experienced hacker decides to jump on to your device there is no way that you can stop him. But this does not mean that you can not protect your phone from the common phishers and malware makers. We have listed down 5 simple ways to help you secure your smartphone data so without further ado lets get started.

Lock Your Phone:

The simplest and the first step that you should take in securing your phone is to set up a pin or password this will prevent others getting access to the device. However, if you don’t find this convenient you can always set up a biometric authentication using fingerprint sensor or facial recognition if your device features it. You can also use Smart Lock (Android feature) that lets you keep your phone unlocked when you are at your home or near your strategically placed NFC device or when the device is in your hands. These security settings can be found if you head to Settings > Security > Screen lock.

Keep Your Smartphone And Apps Updated:

The next thing you should do is to update your smartphone’s OS and apps to the latest version available, the older versions are far more vulnerable than the recent ones as the newer versions come with updated security patches to the latest known vulnerabilities. Also, make sure that you have enabled auto-update apps over WiFi in your devices app store. This will automatically installed the most recent update available which will also fix some bugs. You can check for the system updates in the device About Phone section. If your smartphone is stuck at a very old OS because it is no longer being updated and you are planning to buy a new Android smartphone then our recommendation would be to go with Google a Pixel device as they are the first ones to get the update.

Encryption and two-factor authentication:

Encryption is the best way to secure your smartphone’s data in case your phone gets stolen or lost. You can encrypt your Android device by navigating to Settings > Security > Encrypt Device and follow the prompts. This will encrypt your phone’s storage which means it will scramble all the data on the phone – apps, media and more – until you put in the decryption password, it will also protect your data in the cloud with two-factor authentication on your account logins.

Use A Virtual Private Network (VPN):

Everyone loves free WiFi and it is likely that you use them in your local pub or coffee shop. You should not use free WiFi just for the sake of taking advantage of a free internet connection. According to a recent research, 4 percent of the devices using insecure open WiFi network came into contact with a man-in-the-middle attack in November 2017.

In the first place you must not use these connections but if you really want to use it then make sure to setup and use a mobile Virtual Private Network (VPN). We would recommend using KeepSolid VPN Unlimited, Private Internet Access, Tor Guard, F-Secure Freedome VPN and NordVPN. One thing that you should still not do no matter how much you want is to avoid any money transactions or payment.

Only Install Trusted Applications:

The last thing that you must do is to avoid installing applications from outside the Google Play Store and also check out for the permissions that the app asks for and only grant the permissions that you think are necessary, For Example: why would a wallpaper app need camera access. If you download and install apps from outside the Google Play Store your smartphone won’t let you do it unless you o around and disable this in Settings > Security > Device Administration > Unknown sources. If you still want to download apps from outside the play store then make sure to download it from a trusted site.

So this way our list of ways to keep your smartphone secure. If you follow up with all these suggestions, your phone will be much safer. I hope you enjoyed our post, if you have any queries make sure to drop down a comment below.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment

Name *

Email *

Website

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

Advertisement

FactsChronicle.com, a High-Tech news website providing fresh and factual information about modern devices, gadgets, games, apps, latest inventions and innovations and much more. Stay with us and Know the Future!